Bomb



NOV. 15, 1938. p LIEGEOIS 2,137,056

BOMB

Filed 'Feb. 4, 19 56 2 Sheets-Sheet l 5 58 |NVENTOR= m PIERRE uaeeoas 16a m sg L419 Patented Nov. 15, 1938 FATE NT OFFICE BOIWB "Pierre'Ligeois, Brussels, Belgium, assignor to Manufacture dArmements et de Munitions Armu, Societe Anonyme, Schaerbeek-Brussels,

Belgium Application February 4, 1936, Serial No. 62,313

In Belgium February .13, 1935 Claims.

The launching of bombs from an aeroplane or other craft was hitherto a relatively slow and intricate matter, due to the fact that the operator had to actuate a separate controlling means for 5 the launching of each bomb. Furthermore, the manner in which the bombs were fixed on thecraft involved a strict limitation ofthe number of projectiles which could be transported by the said craft.

The main object of my invention is to provide a bomb releasing device allowing for a very quick and convenient launching of the bombs, either separately or by groups or again for launching all of the bombs contained in the device at a time, said device further allowing for the storing of a great number of bombs, whilst being compact.v

To this end, my invention provides a bomb releasing device constituted by one or' more storing tubes in which the bombs are piled, each tube to release the bombs piled in the tube, either in sequence or at a time and preferably each of the said storing tubes'is also provided with a safety lock.

My invention further relates to a bomb speci ally intended to be launched by a device of the aforesaid type and comprising locking means for the firing system of the bomb, which means auto- -matically release said system at the instant when the bomb'leaves the launching tube.

4 Simply by way of example, certain embodiments of the object of my invention will be hereinafter described more in detail withre'ference to the accompanying drawings, inwhich: a

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary sectional view of a bom launching device;

Fig. 2 is a sectional of Fig. 1; Figs. 3 and-4 are fragmentary sectional views of two modifications of the launching device;

viewalongthe line II- II Fig. 5 is a view, partly in section, of a modification of the upper'part of the bomb launching device;

- Fig. Bis a-sectionalview of a bomb prior to being inserted into the bomb launching device;

Fig. 'l is a fragmentary side elevation: of the bomb shown in Fig. 6; 7 Fig.8 is a sectional view of a further modification of the bomb according to my invention;

' 9 is a. fragmentary sectional view of a modification of said bomb, and

Fig. 10 shows an assembly of three bombspro- I vided with a connnon firing device. A

As shown inlFlgs. 1 and 2, the bomb launching 65 device accordingto my invention may be conhaving associated with it a mechanism permitting structed from a simple light tube I 0, such as made from thin sheet metal, which is-fixed, by means of a base H, e. g. tothe floor I2 of the cockpit or at any other suitable place of the aeroplane. The said floor is provided with an opening I3 having 5 a diameter corresponding to the inner diameter a of the tube. The bombs are piled in a desired number inside the said tube and the ill-timed fall of the bombs is prevented by a retainingmember or safety lock l4 projecting across the base II' and adapted to be removed when it is desired to launch'the bombs. Besides, the lowermost bomb of the pile is withheld in the tube by a resilient device which backs said bomb against the wall of the tube, and which, when operated, will determine the launching of one or more bombs. The said device may be formed of a roller l5 having a groove. lined with a material resistant to friction, such as rubber, said roller being arranged to project partly into the tube through an opening it provided near the lower end of the latter. The said roller is mounted on the end l'la of a bell crank lever l1 pivoted at Hi to a bracket or bearing l9 integral with the tube, the other end "b of the leverbeing provided with a pedal 20. The said lever is further connected to the said bracket by a return spring 2|. Owing to the action of the said spring and to the fact that the groove of the roller- I5 is preferably made to fit the cylindrical form of the bomb, the latter is suitably jammed against the inner wall of the tube l0.- When the operator depresses the pedal 20 for a very short period, the bomb 22 leaves the tube. 0n the'other hand, the roller l5 which is immediately returned .by the spring 2| towards the inside of the tube, encounters theouter shell of the next bomb 22a. and withholds the latter in the tube It. .The number (if-launched bombsdepends upon the time the pedal has been depressed. It will easily be understood that by means of-the. described device all of the bombs contained in the. tube may be launched in an extremely short time. This results in a considerable advantage, inasmuch as all the bombswill touch the ground at pointsclose'to each other, the distances between said points depending upon the speed of the aircraft, upon the wind. and the will of the. operator, so that-'whenaseries of bombs are launched along the axis of the aimed object there is a maximum of chance to hit the mark. a

It will be understood that the construction of the operating mechanism for the roller issubject 'to several modifications. Thus, if the bracket or bearing l9 and the pivotal connection f figure is provided with a removable vU-shaped lock. The upper end of the tube is closed by a cap 50.. A. safety device such as a U shaped member 5| is fastened to the tube by means of pins or is sealed therein, said member bearing a disc 52 adapted to serve as a rest to a load spring 53. The latter acts through a disc 54 upon the uppermost bomb in the tube.- The said spring acts to keep the bombs in place whilst the aircraft is manoeuvring and assists the releasing of the bombs, specially when the tube-is in an inclined position.

' Above the aperture [6a there is a bracket or bearing l9a fixed to the tube by a ring 55 which serves also asa fixing means for one-end of a resilient blade 56 projecting into the aperture "5a. A bell crank lever 51 pivoted at l8a to thesaid bearing is provided at one of its ends'with a bent finger 58, and, at its opposite end, with a handle 59. A spring 60 attached to the bearing la and to the lever 5'! acts normally so as to cause the finger 59 to project into the aperture "id, in order to press the spring 55 against the lowermost bomb, thus securing the latter against movement. All that must be done to free one or more. bombs is to raise desired period. 1

The modification illustrated in Fig. 4 is specially designed for launching the bombs one by one. As shown, a bell crank lever 6| is pivoted at 62 to anv elongate upright 63 fixed to the outer wall of the launching tube. One end of the. said cranked lever forms a pedal 64, while the opposite end of the lever ispivoted at 65 to an oscillatinglever 66 pivoted in turn at 6'| -to the upright or support 63; The ends of lever 66 are bent so as to form fingers 68, 69 facing apertures 10, ,l I, respectively of the tube lllb. The pressure spring 12 normally holds the pedal 64 in the raised position in such a manner that the finger 68 isengaged under the bottom of the lowermost bomb which is thus locked. In depressing the pedal 64 the finger 68 is retracted, so as to free one bomb while the finger-69 presses the spring I3,against the-periphery of the next bomb. If the pedal is then released, the whole mechanism is reset to the position shown-in Fig. 4, so that the said next bomb will be locked by the finger 68.

As shown in Fig. 5, the closure of the upper end of the tube l0, Illa, lob, may be efiected by means of a bayonet cap cooperating with pins I4 integral with the tube, said cap being locked as by a safety pin 15. One end of a pressure spring 53a bears against the said cap, while the other end of said spring bears, through a disc 54a, against the uppermost bomb in the tube.

It will be understood that an aircraft may be provided with several bomb launching tubes according to my invention, which may be disposed either vertically, or horizontally, or again inclined at any desired angle, and may be mounted either inside or outside the cockpit such as under the wings orwithin the latter, or again within the ties of the craft. The individual control means the handle 59 for theof all or part of the bomb launching devices may be interconnected in any suitable way. so as to allow for simultaneous actuation of said control means. 1

Further, it will be noticed that the actuation of the launching mechanism, as well as of the safety lock provided at the lower end of the tube may be effected through mechanical or electro-magnetical means. Preferably, use is made of a mixed control mechanism comprising the said two means in combination, the mechanical means being used when the electro-magnetical operating means are damaged.

My invention also relates to a bomb specially suitable'for being launched by the launching device above described. As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the barrel proper 23 of the bomb, which is filled with explosive, shrapnel. gas, incendiary material and the like is topped with a fitted on head or fuse 23 which may be screwed upon said body and contains the firing device which is constructed as follows: A boss has its edge bearing upon an.

.out a retarding device interposed between them..

The fuse is separated from the charge by a housing 29. A second body 30, carrying a striker II, is held spaced apart from the boss 25by a spring 32 bearing upon annular grooves provided in the bosses 25, 30. In order to prevent ill-timed firing, a resilient strip or blade 35 furnished with two stop pins 36, 35a, is placed over the head 24, so that the said pins project through apertures 21, 31a provided in the said head and are inserted between the bosses 25 and 36. The blade 25 is held in position by a. hood made to fit exactly the head 24. According to a' preferred embodiment,

venting accidents during the storing of the bombs.

When the bomb is about to be charged into the launching tube III, the safety pin 40. is to be removed. During the insertion of the bomb, the hood 38 is prevented from entering the tube by the lug 38a of the hood encountering the upper edge of the tube III, the resilient blade being hence held in place by the inner walls of the launching tube.

As soon as the bomb leaves the tube as a result of the actuation of the release device, the resilient blade 35 is straightened, thus disenga ing thelugs 36 from between the bosses 2i and ll which are hence spaced apart merely by the action of the spring 32. When the bomb hitsan obstacle,

- the inertia of the said bosses causes compression of the spring 32, so that the striker 3| contacts the percussloncap 21, thus causing firing and, consequently, explosion of the projectile to occur. It is to be noticed that that extremity of the bomb which'encounters the obstacle determines that of the two bosses 25, 36 which has to 'move towards the other by inertia, thus causing the firing-to occur. However if a lateral portion of the bomb hits the obstacle, the two bosses 25, II will move towards each other in performing an angular displacement having as a fulcrum that point of the periphery of the said bosses. which is nearest to that point of the bomb that has hit the obstacle,

so that firing is secured in ever'fc'hse.

Inasmuch as the disengagementof' the stop pins 36, 36a leaves the holes 31, 31a in the head of the bomb uncovered, such matters as earth may enter through said holes at the moment the bomb hits a mark, and oppose such inward :displacement of the bosses 25, 30 as is necessary to bring about the firing of the cap.

To avoid this inconvenience, my invention provides a light resilient blade or strip 4| in U form located in a suitable groove 42 provided'in the head 24. The blade 4| is fixed by its centre to the said head, such as by means of a screw 43, while the free ends of the blade 4| are interposed between the blade 35 and the hood 38. When the blade 35 opens out it lifts the free ends of the strip 4|, which ends snap back onto the holes 31, 31a which they mask entirely, as soon as the blade 35 is removed.

It is to be noted that, in order to secure a per-' fect contact between the blade 4| and the edges of the apertures 31, 31a, it is'preferred to make the head 24 with two grooves 44 adapted to lodge the ends of the blade 35.

According to my invention, the sensitiveness of the firing mechanism may be considerably improved by using the construction illustrated in Fig. 8. In the latter embodiment, the head 24a of the bomb 23a has a tapered depression 24b. The striker 3|a is made integral with a tapered disc 16. Between the latter and the depression 24?) there is interposed a movable boss 11 showing upper and lower inwardly bevelled faces fitting the tapered faces of the said depression and disc. A second boss 18 of a form similar to that of the boss 11 is located between a tapered disc 19 carrying a percussion cap 21a, and a likewise tapered disc 80. The latter, as well as the housing 29a, are held in position by clamping their rims between thelower edge of the head 24a and an inner lug 8| provided on the barrel 23a of the bomb. A light pressure spring 32a. keeps the two discs 16 and 19 in a spaced apart position. A retarding fuse cord 82 extends with suitable freedom of movement across the central bore 18a of the boss 18, said fuse cord carrying the detonator 28a. Ill-timed firing is avoided by stop pins 36a which prevent the discs 16 and 19 from moving closer to each other and are integral with a resilient blade or strip 35a held in position by a rigid hood 38a which is locked by means of a removable pin 40a traversing an ear 39a across which the said strip and hood are laid.

As soon as-the bomb being launched and, consequently, the stop pins 36a disengaged from their respective holes-the bomb hits an obstacle, the bosses IT and 18, under the efi'ect of their inertia, will be displaced a certain distance and cause the discs 16' and 19 to move closer to each other, thus producing an instantaneous firing of the percussion cap 210.. If the point of hit is in the axis of the bomb, one of the bosses ll, 18 will move parallelly to said axis. Alternately, if that point of the bomb which has hit the mark first is not situated in the axis of .the

bomb, but is at any angle thereto, the bosses I1 and 18, under the effect of their inertia, will slide upon the tapered surfaces of the depression 24b and the disc 80 upon which the said bosses are bearing, and, at the sametime, will slide upon the tapered faces of the discs 16 and 19, which will thus move closer to each other.

It will be understood that, if desired. the per cussion cap may be directly connected to the detonator, without the interposition of retarding means such as the cord 82. The detonator may be connected to the percussion cap or placed 'of and, consequently, in improving the sensitiveness of the firing mechanism.

A modified construction of the bomb is shown in Fig. 10. The body or barrel 23 is provided at its lower end with a partition .46 having a central opening 41, and has an annular-projection 48, which may be for instance tapped. Several bomb barrels of identical construction maybe assembled by screwing, so as to form a cluster or chain of bombs. The bombs may also be inter-v connected in adifferent way, such as by a bayonet joint. One single firing head (not shown in the drawings) will sufiice to secure explosion of the various bombs'which will be ignited through a priming channel 49 provided longitudinally across the said bombs. The lower end of the channel 49 is closed by a fitted on disc 49a. The

bombs assembled into a cluster or battery may be identical or of various character e. g. explosive bombs, gas bombs, or flares.

While .the bomb according to my invention is particularly adapted to be launched by means of .the above described launching tube, it will beunderstood that the said bomb may also be launched by means of a mortar, rifle or the like, or again, by hand, as a grenade.

What I claim is:

1. A bomb intended to be launched from tubular launching means, comprising a bomb barrel and a head fitted onto said barrel, a firing mechanism arranged in said head and comprising a pair of movable masses capable of longitudinal and lateral displacement relative to the axis of the head and having each at least one tapered end surface portion, two tapered counter surface portions being retained against substantial lateral displacement relative to the head in order to cooperate each with a tapered end surface portion of one of the said masses, two movable discs freely mounted one against each of the opposed faces of themovable masses and spaced apart to form a chamber therebetween, said discs being arranged with little lateral play relative to the head and having a flat rim portion forming an angle with the inner wall of the-head, a percussion cap carried by one of said discs, a firing pin carried by the other of said discs and projecting freely into said chamber opposite the percussion cap and spaced from the disc carrying said cap, spring means arranged between the two said discs to normally hold apart the firingpin and the percussion cap, and removable means for locking the firing mechanism.

2. A bomb comprising a bomb barrel, a head fitted onto said barrel, a firing mechanism arranged in said head and comprising a tapered depressed portion in the head of the bomb, a tapered disc at the lower end of the head and rig idly secured to the latter, two movable masses having upper and lower faces of inversed taper and capable of longitudinal and lateral displacement relative to the axis of the head, two movable tapered discs freely mounted one against each of the oposed faces of the movable masses and spaced.v apart to form a chamber therebetween, said discs bei g arranged with little lateral play relative to the ead and having a flat rim portion forming angles with the inner wall of the head, a percussion cap carried by the one and a firing pin carried by the other of said movable discs, the firing'pin projecting freely into a chamber opposite the percussion cap and clear of the disc carrying said cap, spring means arranged'between the movable discs to normally hold apart the firing pin and the percussion cap and to urge the movable masses against said tapered depression and said fixed disc respectively, and removable means for locking the firing mechanism.

3. A bomb according to claim 2, in which an interior shoulder is provided on the bomb barrel v near the upper end of the latter, whereby the tapered disc cooperating with one of the movable masses is clamped at its, rim between the lower end of the head and the said interior shoulder.

' 4. A bomb according to claim 1, there being no holes in opposite. walls of the head, a resilient 5. A bomb according to claim 1, wherein holes are provided in opposite walls ofthe head, a. re-

silient blade placed over said head to mask the said holes, stop pins integral with the blade to. engage said holes and lock the firing mechanism, a rigid removable hood placed over the blade, a transversely disposed ear provided on the head and across which the resilient blade and the hood are arranged in superimposed relation, a transverse bore in said ear, and a removable safety pinadapted to be engaged in the saidbore to hold the hood in position. PIERRE LrEGEoIs. 

